Daniels, “Expository Text in Literature Circles” VM9:4
This
article is both readable and informative due to Daniels’ engaging style of
writing. After answering the central
question of whether expository text can be used in literature circles with a
resounding “YES!”, he offers caution regarding the type of text that is
used. He then concludes with some
guidance on how to manage the reading circles.
For
successful literature circles built on expository text, Daniels recommends
authentic non-fiction text that is about:
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content
that is important or engaging
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people
we can care about
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a
narrative structure or chronological line
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places
we can visualize
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danger, conflicts, risks, or choices
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value, moral, ethical, or political
dimensions
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some ideas that reasonable
people can debate, dispute, or disagree about.
He
offers a number of book titles and series that meet this criteria and which he
has used with middle school students..
He adds that the attentive
teacher can build an article file of promising text for the classroom by
scouring magazines and newspapers.
He
also emphasizes that textbook writing does not make good literature circle
reading materials because it does not involve the elements marking
“discussable” text listed above.
Textbook writing typically has “simple patterns of
organization, eschews story elements, and contains maximally packed content
loads”. Daniels recommends that
textbooks be reserved for limited use as references.
Management
of literature circles using expository text are parallel to that used for
discussion groups using fiction reading material. Students do need some training in how to read for the purpose of
discussing questions, connections, feelings, judgments, words and phrases from
the reading. They also need some
training in how to use a discussion log to record their group responses. Daniels offers two specific ideas of how to
help students along the road toward fruitful discussion. One is the use of sticky-notes. Each child has a supply which they can use
to mark their text with notes in preparation for discussion, and during
discussion these notes can be collected in the log. He also describes a “jigsaw groups” approach to text where
student groups are each given a different text on a single subject, or a
different section of a single longer text.
Class discussion involves putting the “pieces” together for meaning and
interpretation. Daniels offers a
recording sheet to help students keep a record of their part of the text in
preparation for the larger discussion.
I’ve
had a lot of contact with Australian and New Zealand teachers who a.) marvel at
the array of pre-digested teaching materials available to American teachers
with a slightly jealous eye and, b.) make the same conclusion that Daniels
does: these books are for research, not
for reading. Our teaching friends down
under do spend their free time scouring the newspapers and magazines for
relevant reading material to bring into the classroom as Daniels suggests. Plus, they have library staff (sometimes
parent volunteers) whose sole focus is do even more scouring and cataloguing of
the material. In the international
school where I taught there was a filing cabinet full of carefully clipped
articles that were in folders according to topics of interest. It looked like an incredible amount of work
to me, especially living in a country where access to English reading material
is difficult. But I was assured that
this was normal practice in Australia and New Zealand. It seemed like a nice resource, but I didn’t
really know what to do with so many little pieces of paper. It also needed to be constantly updated with
new material … an on-going management issue.
In
a sub point, Daniels talks about the classic descriptions of expository text
structure (cause/effect, pro/con, problem/solution, description/list,
order/sequence/procedure, etc.) that teachers teach and standardized tests
test. He notes that such text is really
only found on standardized reading tests and in textbooks. He also notes that 70-80% of the reading on
standardized reading tests is this type of text.
I
was so glad for someone to finally notice that what we are being asked to teach
may not be found in real life. This has
been a dilemma for me as I’ve tried to figure out how to teach these text
structures in a way that is meaningful.
I haven’t the time to search for the “ideal” text as an example. Daniels points out that authentic text is a
combination of many different text structures and styles– so it still seems
relevant to teach them directly …. but what should be the context?
Also,
there is the issue of how we should be using textbooks. Daniels strongly
suggests that “we need to change not just how we teach reading, but what we ask
kids to read. We need to use textbooks and reference books more appropriately
(and sparingly), and instead infuse the curriculum with authentic, real-world
nonfiction-the kind of informational, expository, persuasive texts that adults
really read”. OK. But what of the very real need to be able to
read textbooks when one enters college?
(case in point, I have a son who is currently struggling with this very
issue) Granted that textbook reading is
not a skill needed for all of life, but it certainly is a skill needed at
certain points of life (at least until our whole education system
changes). What do you think? Is textbook reading a necessary skill? Should we encourage its development? Will students be able to do well on high
stakes tests without this skill?
Daniels offers no promises.
Should we be concerned?
Interestingly,
I have actually seen a New Zealand language arts textbook that was built around
authentic text. Each chapter of the
text included several samples of one text structure and exercises that led the
students through examination of the text.
However, it was not a widely adapted textbook and has gone out of
print.
The
internet provides a great array of real-life, engaging, informational
text. Try the following sites for some
good reading aimed at kids:
http://doctorbrain.tripod.com/kids.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html
CNN Student News: http://fyi.cnn.com/fyi/
NASAexplores: http://www.nasaexplores.com/
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Date: Wed Sep 29, 2004 6:47 am |
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Author: Gentry, Pamela <[email protected]> |
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Subject: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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REFERENCE |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 2:11 pm |
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Author: Gallo, Annabelle <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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I like the idea of giving kids sticky notes to mark discussion
topics in what they read. This would be reallt beneficial to some kids
because they read the text and then go back and rethink of their initial
questions. This is an easy what for them to mark a page and then it makes
going back and rememberig their discussion the second time much easier. |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 8:47 pm |
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Author: Gentry, Pamela <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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I was at an office supply store in the country I'm in and saw
these really cool sticky notes that are cut out in diffent shapes (arrows,
cartoon bubbles, flowers, hearts, etc.)....are these available in the states,
too? I didn't seem them this summer or spring while I was there. |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 10:54 am |
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Author: Brewer, Julie <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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What an informative summary/response! The Daniels article
obviously contained a wealth of great ideas and practical information. The idea
that the language/type of expository text found on standardized tests is not
representative of authentic text is one I encountered in articles during
session 4 of this class. Given this idea, should we just teach the test as a
separate genre, equip students to be able to read and respond to it, and move
on to preparing them for "real-life" reading? Is this approach
realistic? |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 8:35 pm |
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Author: Brown, Teena <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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I believe Dr. Tice is a proponent of teaching the test as a
separate genre. And I too believe it is important for students to have those
specific skills given our test focused society. I think to that textbook
reading is important for students to understand. It is a resource that
students should know how to use, just like a thesaurus, a dictionary, etc.
And college life is highly centered around textbook reading. However I would
like to comment that classes in college are generally more specific in topic
and so the texts seem to offer more valuable information. Learning how to
digest them is still quite valuable. And on another note, students who
understand that there is other information out there beyond the text to be
found may be in a better position to seek out that information in conjunction
with text. |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 8:44 pm |
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Author: Gentry, Pamela <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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I appreciate your comments. It is unlikely that textbook reading
is going to disappear anytime soon. For one thing, there is a big industry in
it. For another, there is so much inertia built into our system of education.
It would take a long time to turn this ship around. And then, of course,
there is your excellent point that textbooks CAN be useful :-) and even
interesting when they are more topic specific. |
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Date: Sat Oct 2, 2004 8:41 pm |
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Author: Gentry, Pamela <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: DANIELS: Expository Text in Lit Circles |
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This is certainly what the article implies. Is it realistic? It
would be worth a try. I guess the question is how you want to use your
available instructional time....Maybe set aside a week to teach this genre,
and then have one homework assignment per week for follow-up practice. And
the kids who continue to struggle could have a bit of extra help before test
taking time. Would this work? |
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Date: Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:24 pm |
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Author: Gentry, Pamela <[email protected]> |
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Subject: Re: When Readers Struggle |
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Erica-What a great job you did with your struggling student. I
wonder if he liked handwriting because it was something he control and
reflected his strength. Its so sad when kids like this move around so much -
makes it hard for them to get the help they need. |
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